Sandboxing: How has Bhutan done it?

The concept of sandboxing is visible in several Royal Projects I have been involved with while in Bhutan. These Royal Projects may or may not have been initiated with sandboxing in mind, but they certainly demonstrated the principles and potential that can be realised with the sandboxing approach.

Project 1: The Royal Academy

Sandboxing Problem Statement

• How does one create a safe environment to try out new pedagogies to future-proof Bhutanese students?
• How can we nurture students to become not just educated, but activated for leadership and who will be concerned and ignited to do good for the interest of the kingdom?

Constraints to Overcome

• Governments come and go in Bhutan, and in particular, the political leadership in the Education Ministry has exchanged hands several times, each with different emphasis and with little continuity
• As an organisation with more than 500 schools, nearly 400 monastic schools and nearly 1000 non-formal education centres under its purview, the Education Ministry is too big to overhaul at one go.

Sandboxing Characteristic Demonstrated in Solution

• Safety. A safe space in the form of a separate academy was created.
• Experimentation. This safe space experimented with its own educational pedagogy, teacher training, educational research and student management system.
• Showcase of the possibilities of scaling up. Each of the four elements of pedagogy, teacher training, educational research and student management system were allowed to interact dynamically with each other to allow for the cross-fertilisation of benefits. This interaction mimics the ideal interaction that can occur in real life in the larger ecosystem between the Education Ministry and all its stakeholders.

For more information about the Royal Academy, please refer to this site

Project 2: The De Suung

Sandboxing Problem Statement

• How does one encourage pride in serving the kingdom?
• How can one break down silos in mindsets and understanding of what it means to serve the kingdom?

Constraints to Overcome

• Organisations in Bhutan ‘compete’ with each other to showcase their own ways of demonstrating loyalty to the Tsa Wa Sum. In so doing, there is systemic disinclination towards larger scale or longer term efforts currently beyond the ability, interest and space afforded to each organisation to operate.
• There is no platform for willing parties to be fully utilised and for the less unwilling parties to experience true service to the kingdom.

Sandboxing Characteristic Demonstrated in Solution

• Common Safety. A national, voluntary, national service training and volunteering regime was introduced. By being national in outlook, the scope was adequately broad enough to become a common platform for siloed organisations to participate safely. By being voluntary in nature, it was safe – those who enlist on the program do so willingly.
• Confluence of Policy, Mindset and Behaviours. There is unity of policy intent, mindset and behaviours around notions of national service. Over the training period, trainees come to understand and be equipped for national service. Post training, trainees are organised to serve the nation in various ways.
• Common suffering. By being allowed to suffer together, participants quickly bond and learn to perform for each other and for the greater good.

Project 3: The Royal Institute of Governance and Strategic Studies (RIGSS)

Sandboxing Problem Statement

• How does one democratise talent identification and development?
• How to break down silos in governance?

Constraints to Overcome

• In a small society where people are connected to each other through multiple ties, how does one encourage a more objective, merit-based talent selection protocol?
• When resources are scarce, the tendency is for organisational self-preservation rather than for sacrificial collaboration.

Sandboxing Characteristic Demonstrated in Solution

• A safe space in the form of a residential program is created for participants to discard their partisan/sectorial personas in favour of a kingdom mindset.
• Participants learn to experiment with new ways of thinking and relating to each other as collaborators, not competitors.